Gender, Age and Season as Modifiers of the Effects of Diurnal Temperature Range on Emergency Room Admissions for Cause-Specific Cardiovascular Disease among the Elderly in Beijing

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Shigong Wang¹  Kezheng Shang¹  Shilin He²  Tanshi Li²  Bei Li²  Ling Yin²  Minzhen Wang³  Shan Zheng³ 

[1] College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China;General Hospital of PLA, Beijng 100853, China;Institute of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 73000, China;

关键词: diurnal temperature range;    modifiers;    elderly;    emergency room admission;    cardiovascular disease;    hypertensive disease;    ischemic heart disease;    cerebrovascular disease;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph13050447

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background: Diurnal temperature range (DTR) is an important index of climate change and variability. It is also a risk factor affecting human health. However, limited evidence is available to illustrate the effect of DTR modification on cause-specific cardiovascular disease among the elderly. Methods: A semi-parametric generalized additive model (GAM) was used to analyze the exposure-effect relationship between DTR and daily emergency room (ER) admissions for cause-specific cardiovascular diseases among the elderly from 2009 to 2011 in Beijing. We examined the effects of DTR for stratified groups by gender and age, and examined the effects of DTR in the warm season and cold season for cause-specific cardiovascular diseases. Results: Significant associations were found between DTR and ER admissions for all cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease among elderly males, while DTR was significantly associated with ER admissions for all cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease among elderly females. People aged 75 years and older were more vulnerable to DTR. DTR caused greater adverse effects on both genders in the warm season, whereas the effect estimates on females were higher in cold season than in warm season. Conclusions: A short-term increase of DTR was significantly associated with ER admissions for cause-specific cardiovascular disease among the elderly in Beijing. Gender, age and season may modify the acute health effect of DTR. Some prevention programs that target the high risk subgroups in the elderly for impending large temperature changes may reduce the impact of DTR on people’s health.

【 授权许可】

Unknown